The Body is a Beast
by wyniashear
Summary: Doctor FranXX receives a transmission from a close assistant. Knowing that this day has come, he makes due on a promise he made years ago. A retelling of the anime, starting when our two lovebirds find each other once again.
1. Prologue

**reddit: u/wyniashear**

* * *

"This is Hachi reporting in," the man said through the transmission.

"Hachi…" the older man replies in a robotic voice, "it's been awhile."

"What is it, doctor? You wouldn't contact me if it weren't for nothing."

"Tell me, how did the compatibility testing fare for the parasites?" Werner questions, sitting in a chair pulled up to his study. He knew the special parasites of Squad 13 were to have their final test done soon and was curious to know the results of one parasite in particular.

"Most of the cadets passed without incident," the younger man responds, recalling the events of the tests a few hours ago. "Codes 016 and 703 failed to connect after several attempts and are to be sent back to the Garden tomorrow afternoon. I can send you the results of their test."

"Oh, is that so…" the doctor says, trailing off. Things just became a bit easier for him. No need to make things happen arousing suspicion in the process. "Hachi, do make sure the boy stays on the plantation. He is to remain there until I arrive tomorrow."

"And of Code 703?"

"Send the girl off, I'll deal with her later."

Pausing to write down the orders regarding Code 016, he continues, "It will be done."

"Thank you, Hachi," Werner responds before tapping a key on his keyboard, terminating the transmission.

Werner sat in the lab within the plantation he was currently in, wondering what his next move would be. The boy failing the compatibility test did in fact make things a bit easier, he didn't want to force anything with his 'experimental' parasite squadron too much. Better to let things happen on their own without outside powers weighing in, the old geezers on the council in particular.

Reaching for the communicator on his desk, his gaze moves upwards towards the far corner of the desk, where a lone framed photograph rests. Ignoring the communicator for a moment, he reaches for the photo instead. Pictured in the photo, a younger Werner without metal augmentations stands, looking away from the camera, disinterested, with both hands in the pockets of his lab coat. Standing to the right of the picture, a young woman with medium blonde hair smiles, with an arm around the younger man, a stark contrast to his attitude at the time. Bringing it closer, a small smile begins to form on his face. "I hope you're right about this, Karina," he whispers.

Setting the frame back down on the corner of the desk, he goes back to his original task. Communicator in hand, he speed dials his personal assistant.

"Yes, doctor?" a female voice responding on the other end.

"Nana, ready a transport carrier. We are to depart as soon as possible."

"Why so suddenly? And what about Zero Two? She's still out there fighting that Klaxosaur."

"Oh," the doctor breathes, forgetting the fact that the girl was currently occupied. "Alert her after she deals with the threat, as well as her partner."

"One final question, doctor. Where are we going?"

"Plantation 13."

With an affirmation from Nana he ends the call and sets the communicator back down on the desk. Werner knew this day would come eventually and he wasn't sure if he was ready for what comes next. Then again, no one is ever truly ready for anything until it happens.


	2. Chapter 1: The Invitation

Uncaring, unfeeling, remorseless. Those were some of the words people would throw her way. It's only what she would show through her callousness.

 _A monster._

Ingrained within her from the day she could first hear herself think, it's what she believed all the time of her waking life. Even in restfulness, she could not escape those thoughts.

 _Maybe that's what I was always meant to be._

They fed her stamen like they were nothing, like cattle to the slaughter. They knew they would die eventually, it was just up to when she finally drained them of all they had to offer. The doctors had judged them through mental capability and physical strength, simple statistics filtering through those who had the potential to pilot with her. When it came to the final test of piloting with her, she judged them all with extreme prejudice.

 _Yet, they are all so weak. They would never understand._

Every single stamen she piloted with, all of them ended up dead in one way or another by the third ride. Massive flesh wounds, broken bones, internal hemorrhaging, brain damage, they all ended up dead in one or a combination of the such. The weaker ones died within the first, and the strongest lay dying by the end of the third. The ferocity of the girl left them twisted and tormented, eventually leaving them with a hollowed out husk of a body. Their vitality fueling her incessant rage during battle—souls condemned by the first time they entered the mech. Only one could enter and come out unscathed.

 _Only Darling could understand me._

Code 086 was her most recent 'partner,' if that word had any worth to her. Within his first ride, he had been reduced to a broken version of himself after the previous battle, her ruthlessness going to the extremes during that defensive operation. Whether it was her determination to see that the Klaxosaur was completely destroyed, or if it had been something out of her control, didn't matter in the end. Seeing the mechanical beast dead was all that she wanted to see. Having seen Code 086 surviving the vicious ride, a daunting thought scratched at the back of her head: _Is he Darling?_ She then soon answered that question by concluding that Darling would never be weak, he's strong. Never to be broken.

 _Darling's pure, untainted._

 _He's perfect._

 _And I'll make sure to see you again. Even if I have to cut through hordes of Klaxosaurs to do so._

* * *

Having been on a transport plane for a couple hours, she couldn't help but wonder why they had departed from the previous plantation so quickly after killing the Klaxosaur. The large transport ship was already prepped and ready for takeoff by the time she killed the beast, minus several important occupants. Upon boarding the transport, she attempted to ask the elderly man in a lab coat with several metal augmentations as to why were leaving so quickly and where to. Doctor FranXX simply raised his only functioning eyebrow and gave her a light chuckle. Of course she'd never get any answers out of him, never did anyways.

Now approaching Plantation 13, the number of the plantation being the only thing the doctor disclosed to her. On board the transport sat the girl with flowing pink hair, a bandaged up and arm in a sling Code 086, and the aged doctor, as well as a young woman with long red hair who went by Nana. Through the large window panes of the transport, there was nothing besides an endless desert. The only things of note in the endless expanse—besides the upcoming plantation—were large magma mines stretched out across the plateau, magma energy being the essence of power that humanity uses. She'd been told the Klaxosaurs were attracted to the magma energy, but the girl didn't care about that. As long as she got to kill them, she was content in her own way.

Being so close to the plantation, the girl decided to pry at the doctor in hopes of him answering something.

"Does Plantation 13 have an ocean?"

"An ocean?" Nana replies, somewhat caught off guard.

"I wanna swim in some clear ocean water."

"I'm sorry to say there's no ocean there. Won't a shower do?"

At least she got some sort of answer, better than the old fart beating the around the bush for the entire flight. Of course she wouldn't take a shower, as bathing is a much better alternative. Once she gets off this transport, finding something suitable for bathing in would be her top priority. Maybe in one of the lakes within the forest above the plantation? She would just have to make her way up there first. Since all the plantations were created the same, she knew the fastest route to take to get up to the top, and sneaking away from her posse of guards and the doctor would be an all too easy task. The doctor didn't care when she wandered off, oftentimes even _letting_ her sneak off. As to why, she didn't know. Maybe he got a kick out of seeing how frantic the guards and her partner get when she did. Whatever his motives are, she took pleasure in the freedom from not being escorted all the time.

"We'll be descending shortly," announces a guard who came from the cockpit, interrupting the girl's train of thought. "Please sit down and buckle your seatbelts."

After hearing the announcement, she looked down at her hands. _Disgusting,_ she thought. Entranced with her self-bitterness, she didn't bother listening to whatever Nana was telling her. Lifting one of her hands, she pushed back the white glove that was covering it. Sniffing it first, she wondered if her own taste had changed at all. Bringing the hand closer, she gave the back of it a soft lick. "I hate how I taste," she mumbles herself reaffirming her previous thought.

The girl then quietly pulls the glove back on and sets it back down to her side. Turning her head to the side, she gazes out of the aircraft's large window in an attempt to clear her mind. Looking at the plantation below, her gaze moving towards the giant glass dome covering the large forest. Her emerald eyes fixate on an immensely small portion of the forest, eyes widening in a mix of curiosity and elation. Her heart skipped a beat.

"He's here..." the girl quietly lets loose without taking her eyes the minuscule patch of forest. The doctor only grunts as a response. "Maybe, but that's only for you to decide."

For the first time in many years, the girl curls the edges of her lips up ever so slightly.

 _I'm coming for you, Darling._

* * *

 _A young man sits in the stamen seat of a mock FranXX cockpit, below him a young girl mounts the pistil controls. Given the all clear, both parties attempt to simulate a connection in the cockpit. After several seconds, the pistil's paracapacity score shoots up maintaining an average of 75. At the same time, the stamen is finding difficulty in trying to connection. As his paracapacity score slowly begins to climb, a fiery pain starts from his chest and spreads throughout his body in correlation to the score._

 _As the burning sensation encompasses the entirety of his body, a buzzer suddenly sounds alerting them that the test has timed out. Several attempts at a connection pass, each time ending the exact same way. After the 5th attempt, the test overseer declares that the test is over._

 _The stamen sits there dumbfounded as a wave of coolness washes away the pain, tears in his eyes, and his thoughts drowning out the crying of the girl below him._ Why? Why wasn't I able to connect? What the hell was with that pain? _More questions only came up as he attempted to answer them. In the midst of his teary eyed confusion, a firm voice sounds over the intercom in the testing room breaking him out of his mind._

" _Code 016 and Code 703."_

 _The voice pauses for a moment, before uttering the one phrase the young boy has never heard in his entire life._

" _You fail."_

Lying under a large tree within the forests of Mistleteinn, Hiro kept repeating the events of last night in his head and still finds it difficult to comprehend what had happened. Everything between the end of the test and the present had been a blur to the young man, the only details he remembered were his ultimate failure and the phantom pain he felt. For the latter, he chalked it up to just pushing himself too hard. The former, it was a massive shock to him and the other parasites of Squad 13. Him failing at something was unheard of. A child prodigy was what he was often called by the adults and someone that the children respected.

But that was back then during his days at the Garden. Right now he felt completely empty. Failing the compatibility test, but more importantly, failing Squad 13 and his partner, Naomi. He felt like he had no more purpose on this plantation. For reasons unknown, he was given special permission from APE HQ to remain on the plantation. Maybe the adults at HQ believed he was still this prodigy they made him out to be? If he had disappeared like all the other children from the Garden, the morale of all the parasites would tank.

Feeling a vibration coming from the communicator in his uniforms pocket breaks him away from his thoughts. Slowly opening his eyes reveals two big beautiful turquoise eyes. Setting himself up against the large tree was under, he reaches for the communicator in his pocket. Pressing a button, it lights up with a magma-orange color, revealing several messages sent from Ichigo. Seeing the many messages sent from the girl, he was reminded of how much the girl cared about him. Although she is Squad 13's leader, Ichigo always seemed to make an extra effort towards gaining Hiro's affection. Hiro on the other hand didn't know why she acted this way towards him, so he put it off as it just being apart of her over-caring personality.

Suddenly a loud thud emanates from within the glass dome covering the forest. Sliding the communicator into his pocket he begins to stand. Now standing, he slowly makes his way up a nearby hill to see a sizeable blotch of crimson on the inside of the dome. The raven haired boy then puts a finger to the stain, concluding that it's blood from some sort of animal. Hearing the sound of chirping, he turns around to see a small injured bird trying to take flight. Before Hiro was able to reach the bird, he notices a large shadow covering the majority of the forest and the sound of roaring engines.

Looking up, he sees a large transport ship making its way towards the plantation's docking bay. As far away as the transport was, a subconscious force made him focus on one single point towards the passenger cabin of the craft. Something or _someone_ up there mesmerizing him. Hiro stood there for several seconds, which felt like hours to him under its shadow. Coming back to himself, he shakes head in an attempt to clear his mind. Turning back around, Hiro begins to follow the trail of blood and feathers that leads deep into the forest.

* * *

 **A/N**

Well, I guess this is my take on attempting to rewrite the story. Both the Prologue and this chapter can both be viewed as one chapter, if that makes sense. I don't know how long I want to make future chapters, as this is my first attempt at creative writing since elementary school. (good god, it's been what, 8 or so years since I actually _wrote_ a story?)

I will say that I have many ideas circulating in my head on how I want to approach this. First of all, if you didn't already pick up on it, a certain character is alive up a certain point, an attempt at giving Doctor FranXX some sort of moral compass on how he treats Zero Two and other stuff.

As for VIRM? Lolno. I have settled on something for Papa, but I don't want to give too much away and spoil the eventual surprise.

Anyways, those are some of my thoughts on where I'm attempting to go with this, so feel free to leave some sort of criticism or something.


	3. Chapter 2: A Chance Meeting

Ichigo stood leaned up against a wall tapping with haste on her communicator. Hiro obviously knew the startup ceremony was to begin soon, so where was he? Not here in the boarding house of course, probably hiding somewhere in the forest. He wasn't responding to any of her messages. This worried the blue haired girl even further. With a flurry of moving fingers, she sends another message in hopes that Hiro would respond to this one.

Setting the communicator in her pocket, she moves her focus to the center of the living room.

"Partner Killer?" Futoshi asks while his mouth is full of bread. Did he have any manners?

"Yeah, all the stamen who ride with her die within three rides. Three!" Zorome exclaims while holding up three fingers emphasizing his point. "No way I'm going to ride with her, that's for sure."

As Zorome goes on about the many rumors regarding this 'haunted' pistil, Goro enters the room through the door beside Ichigo. "Hear anything from Hiro yet?" the boy with glasses asks.

"No, not yet. I've been trying to reach him all day." Ichigo solemnly answers. "I'm worried about him, he's been gone since this morning."

"You know how he is, he'll turn up when he wants to. Maybe he'll attend the ceremony."

Having heard their short discussion, Zorome turns away from the group and towards both Ichigo and Goro. "Do you two know if he's going to stay?" he asks.

"No," Ichigo responds, "we haven't heard anything from him today. Last time we spoke, he's been set on leaving."

"That's sad to hear," Kokoro softly adds, "he's been with us for as long as I could remember."

Peeking up from her book for the first time, Ikuno questions "What about Naomi? It was Hiro's fault that both of them failed."

"Whatever the case, we don't need deadweight like him in this squad. Maybe this was always meant to be." Mitsuru says while walking around the circle couches. "We might be able to get more competent squad members."

As soon as he finished his statement, Miku gives him a look of disdain and mumbles something under her breath, not loud enough for Ichigo to pick up on it.

"I'm hopeful he stays. We're a team." Goro says as he turns to Ichigo.

Hiro meant too much to all of Squad 13, and for him to leave them all behind, that fact alone saddened both Ichigo and Goro. He was the one who gave everyone in the squad names back at the Garden. Before Hiro gave everyone their own names, they would refer to everyone by their Code Numbers. Ichigo still remembers the day when Hiro first gave her the name she has now. While she doesn't remember exactly how Hiro conjured up the name, she holds the name very close to her heart.

"Yeah, we are…" she silently tells herself.

* * *

 _Where'd that bird go?_ Hiro wonders to himself as he marches further into the forest. The trail of blood and feathers had ended abruptly several feet back. _Maybe it managed to get up off the ground?_

Hearing the sound of distant chirping, he turns towards its origin. "It's alive," he quietly hums to himself.

Continuing his pace, he progresses even further into the forest. Venturing further, Hiro comes to a large clearing where a foggy lake sits in the middle. Dead trees surrounded the lake, all of them stripped of their branches. As much as he had wandered around the forest, this area seemed to have evaded him. There was a sense of beauty here that he couldn't put his finger on.

"Huh, I've never seen a place like this here before…" Hiro trails off as he walks closer to the lake's edge.

Before getting too close to the water, he notices a pile of clothes thrown on a nearby tree branch. Upon getting closer and inspecting them, he realizes they are similar to that of a parasite's uniform. Unknowingly, he reaches for a particular light pink article of clothing.

A movement across the lake's surface draws Hiro attention towards it, with the piece of clothing still in hand. At first, he is unable to to discern exactly what's out there. As the figure becomes parallel with the surface, he is able to make out certain details. Obviously a girl was swimming out there, but what were those things on her head? Horns? Being so far out in the lake, Hiro wasn't able to clearly see the features. Realizing that he'd been staring at this girl, his face quickly grows red with embarrassment and turns away as a result.

Regaining his composure, he looks back out onto the lake. Looking across the waterline, he sees that the figure had disappeared from the surface. Several seconds pass without the girl resurfacing for air making Hiro worried. "She's not drowning, is she?!" Hiro exclaims as he runs out from the treeline and into the lake.

Before Hiro is able to get too deep into the water, the water in front of him explodes revealing a girl with long pink hair. As she breached the lake's surface, she had a small fish within her mouth that was attempting to wriggle free. On the top of her head resides two alluring crimson horns that glistened within the sunlight. Under her emerald eyes lies eyeshadow that shares the same color of her horns. Never before had Hiro seen a girl this beautiful and no other girl he knew could compare.

Seeing the girl standing in front of Hiro, she spat out the fish back into the water. Coming back to his senses, he sees that this girl was in fact naked. And she didn't seem to care one bit.

As the girl moved her head closer to inspect the young boy, he begins to stutter in embarrassment. "N-naked! Y-you're naked!" is all that Hiro is able to muster.

"Oh? And here I thought you were dead," the odd girl states before passing Hiro and heading towards where presumably her clothes are.

Hiro stands there confused by her statement. This girl who he had never seen before was in the nude, swimming in the lake, and presumably fishing as well. Wanting some sort of identification from this girl, he begins asking her questions. "Are you a parasite? Why were you bathing here?"

The girl stops after leaving the water, giving Hiro some hope she'd answer one of his questions. "It's so weird, I heard the ocean was salty," the pink haired girl says as she give her hand a lick.

"Uh, this isn't an ocean?" Hiro questions, making his confusion grow even more. What is up with this girl?

"I know that much," the girl says, finally answering one of Hiro's questions. "But it's the most ocean-like place I know. Aren't you going to swim?"

Taken slightly aback by the question, Hiro answers with, "Wha-? Nah, I'm good." This girl is very weird indeed.

"Really? But it feels so good" the girl says with a hint of disappointment as Hiro slowly makes his way back to land. "You were staring so hard, I thought you wanted to swim too."

"Well, uh, that was because I thought you were drowning!" Hiro explained once he reached the bank. He was hoping that this girl wouldn't take his actions in a bad way. "That's why I jumped in and I, uh… could you put some clothes on please?" Hiro requests as he turns away in an attempt to save some grace.

The girl then gives him a questioning glance as her hand meets her chin. Before long she stretches out her arm and points a finger to him. "Ah! I get it! You're a pervert!"

Hiro jumps in surprise as the accusation is thrown at him. "I- wha-" he stammers as he tries to figure the situation out. With a smile, the girl then moves her accusing finger down towards Hiro's fist. Opening his hand reveals light pink panties, the same ones he picked up from earlier.

Freaking out about the revelation, Hiro tries his best to hand them back over to its rightful owner. "I-it's not what it l-looks like!" he sputters as he finally gets a grasp on the situation, fist thrusted forward with the panties in hand towards the girl.

Oddly enough, the girl starts laughing hysterically at Hiro's little show. This only makes the boy feel even more embarrassed, face red once again. Once the girl gets a hold of herself, she thanks the raven haired boy for his efforts from earlier. "But you did jump in to save me earlier? I appreciate that," she says still trying to recover from her laughing fit. "Thank you."

* * *

 _This guy's funny. Though he might be a pervert, he seems kinda cute,_ Zero Two thinks to herself as she gets dressed.

"You're a parasite too, aren't you?" asks Hiro, who sits with his back turned in an attempt to give her some sort of privacy.

"No," Hiro bluntly replies.

"Do you pilot?"

Skipping a rock back into the lake, Hiro does his best to explain. "I can't pilot, and I probably never will. I even took my partner down with me too."

 _Oh, is that so…_

Hiro sighed. "I don't have a place in this world anymore."

 _Yes you do._

"I guess we're similar then," Zero Two states, gaining Hiro's interest.

"I've been alone for a long time, thanks to these horns," she continues as she slides a headband in place where the two crimson horns reside on her forehead. It clicks into place giving off a quiet beep.

"If you don't belong here, just build a place where do you. If you don't have a partner, just find another."

"And if you can't," the girl says with a devious smile. "Take one by force!"

Leaping on top of Hiro with both hands on his shoulders, she gets in close to give his cheek a soft lick. Through the sheer force, Hiro fell on his back and now partially submerged by the lake.

"Darling…" Zero Two quietly muses to herself as she sits over the boy. "Your taste, I've missed this taste…"

 _Just the same as before… but his cheek_ does _taste better than his hand._

"I, uh, what?" the boy below her was visibly confused by her saying.

"It's the taste of danger. It bites and lingers," she addresses him while smiling. "I've only ever tasted it once."

As the horned girl began to stand, Hiro laid there very confused by what happened.

"I think I've taken a liking to you. You'll be my Darling, won't you?" Zero Two asks, looking directly into his eyes. Within his eyes, she tries to find the boy she knew way back when. What she sees instead is a tiny blue fire nearly snuffed out, but wishes to burn brighter. In a way, his eyes reminded Zero Two of her own.

"D-darling? Don't you mean partner?" Hiro replies, deeping his confusion.

 _Maybe you need a little push._

"You probably just need the right partner, so why not be mine?" she questions slyly with a hint of mischief. "Besides, _you_ were the first person that isn't afraid of me."

As Zero Two stands over Hiro, she extends a hand out to him. Her emerald eyes inviting him to join accept the gracious offer. Hiro still lays there half submerged, confusion replaced by uncertainty.

 _Take my hand. Like you once did for me._

Hiro eventually comes to the only decision he can make in this predicament. He raises his own arm, placing his hand within hers. The blue fire within his turquoise burns slightly hotter, his decision firm.

Zero Two then helps the sodden boy out of the water. She only manages to get him halfway to standing before she hears movement out in the her head to the source, her face quickly changing from elation to animosity. Zero Two breathes in sharply while her entire body tenses up with disgust, accidentally dropping Hiro back into the water with an audible splash.

"We've been looking for you," announces a gray haired man followed by several APE special agents and plantation guards. "You shouldn't be running off alone."

Zero Two turns to Code 086 and retorts with hostility. "Why? There isn't anything else to do until the welcoming ceremony."

Walking closer to her, he places a military cap on her head, concealing the crimson horns. "As your _partner,_ I'm the one who suffers from it," he scolds, the word 'partner' something he would not like to say.

Hiro now standing picks up on the way he said that word. "Partner? What do you mean by that?"

"Listen to me boy, not anyone can handle this pistil. You see what she has already done to me," Code 086 cautions to Hiro as he gestures towards the neck brace he wears with the one arm not in a sling.

 _Yeah, serves you right for the way you're talking to him._

He turns back towards the group surrounding Zero Two as the special agents try to make her presentable. As they begin to march through the forest, Hiro suddenly exclaims.

"Wait! What's your name?"

His question caught Zero Two off guard. _You… don't you remember?_ As Zero Two came to a standstill, the rest of the group did the same. She hoped that he would say her name during their time together, but that never happened. Or maybe he just needed a confirmation? But then again, she knew only _one_ person with the combination of pink hair, emerald eyes, and crimson horns.

"A name?" Zero Two asks quietly. "I thought we didn't have _names_."

She pauses for a second before continuing. "My code number is 002, but I go by Zero Two."

As Zero Two and her escort begin to march through the forest once more, a couple Plantation guards remain to escort Hiro to some place else. As he is being dragged along by one of the guards, he can't help but think he might have found his place again. But those thoughts are quickly dashed once he sees something off to the side.

Hiro sees the same bird from earlier, but there is no chance at saving the bird now. Its limp body rests within the jaws of a small black cat. As Hiro stares with dilated eyes at the cat making its way into the forest, it stops in its tracks and looks back towards Hiro. The cat stares back into his eyes, foreboding dark green eyes burrowing into his own. It's almost as it _knew_ what this bird was to Hiro. Breaking away its gaze, the black cat jumps into the brush disappearing from his sight.

Grief-stricken, Hiro sighs as he hops into the small cart with the guards. He hopes to forget all about that bird. But he can't stop thinking about the girl by the lake.

 _I'll find you again, Zero Two_

* * *

 **A/N**

Chapter 2 I guess.

These first couple of chapters might be a bit slow and stick to the canon, but I've been doing my best to fit in foreshadowing and symbolism of what's going to happen as this story progresses. Also, I don't know how often I'll update, but I will say I'll try to be consistant-ish. No promises, no God, and no cheesecake.

And if I may ask, is my writing style "cold?" I just feel like I don't put enough character into the characters when I try writing from the perspective of one of them, but I could just be playing myself here. Whatever, I'll improve or something as I continue, but who nose. Knows. Heh, noses.


	4. Chapter 3: The Flaw of Searching

"Code 016, APE Headquarters have given you special permission to remain here," Hachi offers in his emotionless voice from his large desk, arms on top of it with hands folded under his chin.

Within the room, large windows behind the desk let in bright lights directly from the sun. The older man rests from behind the wooden desk with intention behind his eyes. Hiro sits opposite of Hachi, however his chair is slightly shorter giving more importance to whoever sits behind the desk. Hearing the option presented before him, Hiro is still dead set on going back to the Garden—special permission or not.

"I wish to go back to the Garden, with Naomi," he solemnly states. "I have no reason to be here anymore."

"You have special permission to remain at this plantation, Code 016," Hachi states once again with more firmness.

Something about the way he presented the offer again caught Hiro off guard. It was almost like it was more of a command than an offer. Why wouldn't they just let him leave? He has no more purpose after all. _Unless…_ no. He quickly ends his train of thought before it consumes his already racing head.

Hiro nods in approval, before asking a question. "May I at least see Naomi off?"

Hachi takes a moment to process his request. He gives a small nod, unblinking.

With that, Hiro stands up from his seat and turns towards the door. Exiting the room and closing the door behind him, he sees a crying Naomi sitting on a bench not to far from the room. She has a suitcase laying on the ground beside the bench, '703' printed on the side indicating that it must be filled with her belongings. Feeling sorry for the predicament he landed both of them in, he walks over and offers her his hand.

"Let's go, I'll walk you there," Hiro says as stretches out his arm.

Meanwhile in the room the raven haired boy just left, Hachi pulls out a radio to make contact with a guard stationed near the docking bays.

"Sir?" a guard on the other end responds.

"Code 016 and Code 703 will be at the docking bay awaiting departure. Allow Code 703 to board, but do not let Code 016 on one. If he needs to be restrained from entering one, restrain him."

"Received," the guard blankly replied back. Hachi sets the device back down, hoping things turn out for the best.

 _Hopefully he doesn't do anything stupid. That'd probably piss off the doc._

* * *

Both Ichigo and Goro stood outside of Delphinium's cockpit, and everyone else outside of their respective Franxx. Ichigo's nervousness only doubled once they had reached the retractable catwalk that extended in front of all the Franxx. It's the first time they were able to set foot in their Franxx and actually start it up. The interior of the metal cockpit looked foreboding to the blue haired girl. Would she really pilot it?

On top of all that, Hiro was still on her mind. She worried that he wouldn't get to see their startup ritual, with him so dead set on leaving and all that. Ichigo felt bad for Naomi too, but even more so for Hiro. Just something about him set her off, in a good way. Hopefully he takes up that request to stay here. Ichigo lets out a deep sigh.

"Hey, are you ready?" Goro asks her, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"Y-yeah…" she answers, rubbing her arm out of uncertainty.

"You're thinking about Hiro, aren't you?"

Ichigo quietly nods in response. It was all too obvious for Goro to figure that out. She had been nervous all day, never hearing anything from the boy. He too cares about Hiro in his own way, albeit

"I'm worried about him too, you know," he confesses, "Maybe he's going to stay. Best to remain hopeful, right? Besides, we should do this for Hiro."

"Yeah, you're right," she declares with a little enthusiasm. "For Hiro."

As she finished, the all clear is sounded to the parasites standing outside for them to board their Franxx.

"Alright, let's go," Goro announces as he is the first to enter Delphinium.

 _For you, Hiro_.

Ichigo soon follows behind him.

* * *

On the open aired docking bay, both Hiro and Naomi stood side by side, albeit some distance away, waiting for the next plant to arrive. Naomi clutched her suitcase full of belongings with both hands with both hands, tear stains remaining on her face. With her head down, her long brown hair covered most of her face, blocking it from her partner's view.

Hiro, however, was staring out into the endless plains of the desert wasteland, with the many large plants moving towards and away from the plantation. He didn't have anything in particular in sight, but felt better by not making eye contact with Naomi. Hiro had too much going on in his head at the moment.

Why do they want him to remain here on the plantation? Didn't they see he was of no use to them? But that girl… Zero Two her name was? He'd never seen a girl with horns, and the first time to boot, she looked beautiful. Her horns, they were… alluring. She can't possibly have something to do with him staying here, did she? It was the first time seeing her too. And yet, here Hiro was, just happening to lose his partner… but wait, didn't this girl already have a partner? But he looked more like a punching bag than a capable stamen.

"Why'd you come, Hiro?" Naomi asks, breaching the silence the two had. "Was it out of pity?"

Hiro stood unmoving at the question. "I had to, Naomi. I wanted to-"

"No Hiro, you don't need to say it," she cuts him off before he's able to finish. "You want to leave, don't you."

Hiro remained silent as she asked the question. She took his silence as an answer.

"You heard what they said. They wouldn't keep you here if they didn't want you. Maybe you have some greater purpose," Naomi gives a light chuckle as she finishes. "This is where my ride ends, Hiro."

She closes the distance between the two of them, suitcase in one hand and the other free. Setting down the suitcase, Naomi sets one hand on his shoulder, gaining his attention.

"Find hope and reason, Hiro. You won't find any here with me."

"Naomi…"

"No, Hiro. Your future is here," Naomi asserts. "This is my stop."

She turns away from Hiro, seeing that her plant to who-knows-where had arrived. She leaves her suitcase next to his feet, not bothering to retrieve it.

"Hand my things out to everyone, as a parting gift," Naomi pauses for a moment while walking towards the open door, with a small smile unseen by the boy. "There's something in there for you too, Hiro."

"Wait! Naomi!" Hiro shouts, but his pleading falls on deaf ears.

Naomi enters the open door, turning around once she enters. "Goodbye, Hiro. It's been… fun, I suppose," she confesses with a pained smile.

Hiro attempts to chase after her, but is held back by a plantation guard. "You cannot leave this plantation," is all the man has to say.

"Maybe we'll see each other again…" were Naomi's last words as the large metal doors close in front of her.

Hiro watched sitting as the large departed from the docking bay with Naomi in it. It released a loud alarm as a departure signal and the gigantic engine that powered the thing thundered. The elephant of a structure began making its way towards the desert horizon, along with several others in tow.

Hiro looked at the suitcase that remained on the ground. He reached out an arm to pick it up, bringing it to rest on his lap. _Something for me…_ he thinks to himself.

Before he is able to undo the latches, he looks out once more to the dusty horizon. What he believes to the same plant that Naomi now boards, two massive, long structures stand out in front of the plant, piercing the sky.

"Come on, you must be in attendance to the start up ritual," the guard behind him commands.

However, before the guard is able to lay a hand on the boy, the two structures out on the plains begin to destroy the ground before it. The guard backs up in fear, and Hiro begins to stand.

"That's a…" Hiro begins, before the guard loudly finishes his sentence.

"Klaxosaur! There's a Klaxosaur out there!"

The black and crystalline blue beast emerges from the ground. It's gaping maw comes crashing back down on the plant, crushing it with ease.

"Naomi!" Hiro shouts at the top of his lungs, paralyzed by total fear.

The plantation guard behind him pulls out a radio and begins barking orders to command. "We've got a Klaxosaur! Ready the cannons!"

Suddenly the cannons lining the plantation's outer walls begins to unfold from their positions. Each one begins to fire a barrage of projectiles and pure magma energy towards the mechanical beast. The Klaxosaur was unphased by the volley, perhaps making it angrier as it charged out of the fog.

Getting into a more clear view, Hiro could make out more details of the beast. Twin spires, presumably horns, jutted out from he believed to be it's head. The body looked familiar to that of a dinosaur from the ancient days. Most of the body was covered in obsidian black metal and a beautiful, crystalline like blue plating. The projectiles that hit it did no observable damage, as it brushed all the shots off like it was nothing.

The Klaxosaur came closer and closer to the plantation, picking up more speed as it went along. As it approached the docking bay, Hiro began running away to seek some sort of safety, with suitcase in hand.

It was too late.

The Klaxosaur came at a sideways angle towards the plantation, scraping it's large tail against the side of the plantation. This action caused the docking bridge that Hiro was desperately trying to run away from to be bent upwards—with him still on it. He reached for a nearby railing to grab so he wouldn't be thrown to the ground below him. The bridge was almost vertical, before it began bending in the direction of the swiping tail. Hiro was launched from his railing, and down onto the outer platform that circles the entire plantation—the suitcase landing with a couple of bounces right next to him.

Hiro could disregard whatever was in the suitcase for now, as he had bigger problems on his hands. The Klaxosaur finished it's sweep, and now was beginning to head towards the garage which housed the Franxx. Within the giant mechs, his squadmates resided in them. Helpless against the beast of machinations.

Hiro did the only thing he could do: run.

Adrenaline surging through his body, he pushed his body as hard as it could; diverting any energy he had into running. He wouldn't be able to do much if—no, when he reached the garage, but he wanted to make sure his friends are alright.

Running as fast as he could, he looks out to where he last saw the Klaxosaur; though it only left a giant cloud of desert dust in its wake. Before he was able to look straight once again, a bright orange is the only thing Hiro was able to make out in the dust cloud. It was almost like it was _looking_ at him. It's outline reminded him of some sort of animal, a cat maybe. It's beastial appearance was the only thing he was certain of.

"Another Klaxosaur?!" Hiro gasped, as the new beast chased after the one currently attacking the plantation. One was bad, but two? Hiro hoped to at least get out of this whole ordeal without too many injuries than the ones he currently has.

As Hiro ran, the large Klaxosaur was wedging it's was into the garage, it's maw now facing an inactive Delphinium. Both Goro and Ichigo now panicking at the unruly sight of the thing.

"Ichigo! We have to get out of here!" Goro yells, but Ichigo remained in the pistil terminal. She was too paralyzed by fear to move, holding her breath as she waited. Ichigo was only able to think about one thing.

 _Hiro..._

The mouth of the Klaxosaur began to open, it's giant tail suddenly transforming into a turbine. The dull blue of the turbine slowly began to spin, the blue lighting up the faster it spun. Within the beasts' mouth, a bright blue energy begins to form. The intensity signalled the end to both Ichigo and Goro.

 _Papa please save me..._

Her prayers were answered. The beast's maw is violently removed from the opening it made in the garage. Unable to fire its weapon, it instantly discharges the energy it created.

Ichigo lets out a sigh of relief, able to live another day, at least.

The white and red beast intercepted the Klaxosaur by pegging it's side with all the force it had to offer. Now on top of the Klaxosaur, it was ripping, clawing, and gnawing at it's backside. The design of the smaller beast became more visible to Hiro. It wasn't a Klaxosaur at all—it was a Franxx, deformed into it's stampede form. Hiro had only read about it, knowing that it only happened if a pistil assumed the burden of piloting the Franxx all by herself; often resulting in full loss of control over the mech. But this Franxx, it controlled its movements with extreme dexterity—calculated strikes amidst its brutal fighting style.

With a full swing of its body, the Klaxosaur gains an upper hand by throwing the Franxx off of it's backside, sending the mech flying towards the plantation. The Franxx lands on the desert floor, claws digging into the ground to stop itself from sliding. As the Franxx comes a stop, the turbine-tail of the Klaxosaur begins to fire up once again, aimed directly at the Franxx. The mech sits in wait, preparing for it's strike. Before long, the Klaxosaur has enough energy, indicated by the sizeable ball of pure, blue energy.

The mechanical beast then fires, unleashing a solid torrent of the brilliant blue energy hurling towards the Franxx. With a swift motion, the Franxx dislodges its magma tipped tail and sets it right in front of the beam, refracting the energy up the sides of the plantation.

Hiro stands in amazement of the event, but that is quickly short lived. Because of the sheer force of the energy, it sent the white and red Franxx sailing through the air, towards the plantation wall.

Right to where Hiro was standing.

Startled by the realization, he picks one of two paths on the platform and bolts it. Barely making it out of the impact radius, the shockwave from the impact sent the young boy flying a couple feet. Thankfully Hiro only sustained minor injuries, compared to what could have happened.

Snapping out of his short daze, he gets back up on his feet and awkwardly stumbles to the now inactive Franxx. Suddenly, the cockpit to the mech opens up and out falls a male body. Getting closer, Hiro is able to discern it's the same broken man he saw earlier in the day, back up at the lake in Mistilteinn. His bloodied body coughs violently, before all movement ceases completely.

"He's done for," a female voice sounds from the open cockpit.

Hiro turns his head away from the still warm corpse towards the sound of the voice. In the doorframe of the cockpit leans a pink haired maiden donning a red and gold pistil suit, blood flowing down half of her face and in her hair. Two alluring crimson horns adrone her forehead.

"Zero Two?! What are you going in there?!" Hiro blurted, turquoise eyes wide in surprise.

Zero Two smiles at his, rather silly, question. To Hiro, it wasn't funny at all. "Monster hunting, of course. Say, wanna join me?"

Hiro's eyes shift from surprise to that of uncertainty. Should he join her? _Could_ he pilot?

"If you don't wanna…" Zero Two coos as she turns around, heading back into the cockpit. She lets a little limp escape her figure, hoping that Hiro would notice.

"No, wait!" Hiro shouts, fearing the worst for her safety.

 _Just as caring as I remember. And_ still _easy to tease. Good,_ Zero Two thinks to herself, stopping her movement. Oh the possibilities she could do to him.

"You can't pilot like that," Hiro breathes as he stands up straight. "I might not be able to pilot, but you can't go at it alone like that."

 _Even better._

"So, take me with you!" Hiro proclaims with full blown confidence.

 _Yes!_

Hearing his proclamation of selflessness, Zero Two turns around to meet his gaze—a great big smile plastered on her face with large, bright emerald eyes. If Hiro didn't know any better, he would've been glomped on by one, pink vicious predator.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Zero Two slyly asks, extending out an arm to the boy below her.

Hiro reaches out his hand, reluctant at first. He looks back down at the corpse of the girls former 'partner,' fearing the worst that could happen. But if he were to pilot _and_ die, that would be a whole lot better than just sitting there and _dying_.

Zero Two's form unwavered at his reluctance, knowing that he would have to choose the right answer.

The only answer.

Hiro makes up his mind, his hand making contact with Zero Two's bloodied one. With inhuman strength, the pistil gently lifts him into the cockpit with only the use of one hand.

"Let me get a taste of you," she gently whispers to the entranced boy.

"You are now…"

"My Darling!"

Both of them land on the stamen seat with Hiro wrapped around Zero Two's arms. She gave the entranced boy one, long, lustful kiss on the lips. Hiro could do nothing but push back against her own, warm lips.

 _Even better tasting than both his hand_ and _cheek. I can get used to this._

Suddenly the cockpit lights up with life, white lights emanating from the hexagonal screens around the cockpit. The brilliant white light enraptured them both, with red text written over the screens.

 _STRELITZIA_

 _ACTIVATED_

Down at the failed startup ritual, the members of Squad 13 clustered together, surrounding Nana and Doctor Franxx—everyone looking up at the inactive Strelitzia that hung off the side of the plantation. Ichigo and Goro remained in mild shock of the near-death experience they witnessed together, but were relatively unharmed; as were the rest of them.

"What's taking her so long?" Nana worriedly asks the doctor.

Doctor Franxx remains silent to her question, continuing to stare back up at the mech.

Without warning, the attacking Klaxosaur rams its gaping maw into where the disabled Franxx lies. A gasp is heard from one of the parasite behind them.

"D-did it get eaten?" Goro asks in fear.

His question is quickly answered, as a blinding light appears from where the Franxx was. The Klaxosaur is blinded by the bright light, and is then forcibly picked up by the previously disabled Franxx. As the Klaxosaur is thrown across the desert wastes, the stampeding Franxx shows some sort of transformation. It's mechanical body shifting and altering, becoming that of a bipedal. Never before has anyone seen Strelitzia operate in a non-stampeding form, not even Doctor Franxx—it's spectacular appearance visibly shocking Nana.

"Doctor… it can't be… that's not possible…" Nana begins, but finding no other words, stops.

"But it _is,_ my dear Nana. It just needed the right stamen to do so," he explains, without giving too many details. "As a result, the iron maiden reveals her true form."

" _This_ is a Franxx!" Doctor Franxx shouts, voice filled with glee. He hasn't been this happy since the success of his other project. What he couldn't wait for was all the data for waiting for him to analyze back at his lab regarding this sudden transformation.

"Strelitzia, you're the best!"

"But who's piloting it?" Ichigo asks from behind, but the question falls on deaf ears. They were all too entranced by the awakened Strelitzia following behind the fallen Klaxosaur.

The jets around the Franxx's waist were firing, propulsing Strelitzia towards the Klaxosaur. With spear—previously it's tail—in hand, Strelitzia threw it deep within the Klaxosaur's maw. The mechanical beast becomes stunned by the sudden attack, with Strelitzia approaching. Grabbing the massive magma spear, she presses a button on it, causing magma energy to funnel from reserves into the spear tip.

"Game over."

The Klaxosaur violently explodes, leaving a thick cloud of blue mist in its wake, raining down on the surrounding lands, including the plantation. On the tip of the magma spear, the blue and orange Klaxosaur core is all that remains, which promptly slides off the spear with ease. Seeing that their work is done, Strelitzia glides back over to the plantation.

Once they reach the plantation, Zero Two disengages from the pistil terminal from within the cockpit, causing Strelitzia to deactivate.

"Hey Darling, we did it," she whisper to Hiro, who sat in the stamen seat.

"We did?" Hiro asks weakly, tired out by both all the running he did earlier and piloting the mech.

"Yeah, we did," Zero Two answers.

Hiro begins to slip into unconsciousness, falling out of the seat a bit. Zero Two is quick to catch him before he falls too far.

"G… good to know," Hiro grins, before falling asleep in her arms.

 _He's cute when sleeping too. He's too perfect._

Zero Two gently picks up his limp form, legs in one arm and back in the other.

"You did good, Darling. Better than perfect," she silently breathes, basking in his perfect form.

Down below on the desert ground, Squad 13—as well as Nana and Doctor Franxx—stood watching the opened faceplate of Strelitzia. Besides the doctor, they all were nervous to see who would step out of the cockpit, Nana worrying if they were even alive.

Out emerges Zero Two from the cockpit, carrying her partner—her _darling_ —within her arms, bridal style. The doctor lets a small smile form on his face, already knowing exactly who it was, but it takes the rest of the parasites to figure out who it is.

Ichigo's eyes widened upon making out the stamen's finer details. "H-Hiro?!"

Goro is second to notice, but doesn't say anything. The others are too focused on the girl carrying him. Those horns of hers spelled danger for some of them.

"That's Code 002," Nana begins to explain the horned girl, "she's a special pistil who will be staying with us for the time being. But right now, we're going to need a medical team for Hiro."

"Oh, yes," Doctor Franxx realizes, Nana's request breaking him out of his trance. "As much as I admire the boy, he does look a bit banged up."

The doctor looks back up to the head of the Franxx where Zero Two still stands, lost in thought once again. _You best take care of her, or you'll answer to my cane. Oh who am I kidding, you should be more worried about what_ she _will_ _do to you if you screw up, than what I'll ever do.  
_

* * *

 **A/N**

Uhhh, so here it is. The first episode done in 3 chapters, this one being the most fun to write. The reason for the delay for this chapter is that I've been working on a smaller, 2 chapter story that's supposed to be a re-imagining of ep. 14. I'm guessing it to be about 10k words when I'm done. I'll say more about it once I publish it, but just imagine if Zero Two's emotions were more, well, more emotionful. And no, there won't be any crossover from that one to this fic. That's all I have to say, so uh, goodnight I guess.

also, check out the band Riverside. some inspiration for writing this fic this comes from one album in particular. hell, the name for this chapter is derived from one of their songs.

okay I stop talking now. sleep time.


	5. Chapter 4: Theatrics

Doctor Franxx stood leaning on his cane in front of the large screen that took up most of the wall in his personal lab. He was analyzing the recorded data regarding Strelitzia's most recent startup. Though he knew that the Franxx would break out of stampede once the boy entered it, the Doctor wanted to take a look at the finer details that witnessing the transformation didn't reveal.

On the screen was a diagram of Strelitzia with displays showing paracapacity scores and vital signs. At this point in the recording, the late Code 086's vitals began to flatline, followed by the Franxx deactivating. Shame he had to die in this fashion, but sacrifices had to be made to keep prying eyes away from the Doctor's project.

Strelitzia remained inactive for several minutes, presumably picking up a new stamen—the boy. Suddenly the information panels regarding Strelitzia's pilots light up once more, signalling that the mech has activated once again. The pistil's—Zero Two—paracapacity score immediately shot up to her usual levels. The newfound stamen's—Hiro—followed right behind, achieving the same exact score as hers. His vitals showed no signs of immediate degradation as Zero Two's other partners did, but Doctor Franxx was unsurprised by this.

At the front of the room, the sliding door opens as an all to familiar figure walks in.

"What is it, Nana?" Doctor Franxx demands already knowing who it was, not turning away from the screen. Does she never knock?

"I came to report that Hiro has left the medical bay," Nana answers.

"And?"

Nana pauses to recall the boy's condition. "He only had minor scrapes and bruises, nothing serious."

The Doctor remains quiet, as he continues to stare at the screen. Nana sees what's on the screen, and walks over to his side.

"That's from earlier?" Nana asks, taking in some of the plentiful information that lays on the screen. "I'm still surprised that Hiro, out of all the children, managed to calm that girl down. I guess he's still special after all."

"There's more to it then that, Nana."

Through his vague statement, it's enough to give Nana an answer. "Then it's not a coincidence that you brought Zero Two here, to all places. The Council is going to want to know why you pulled their favorite pilot from the frontlines to here."

For once during their conversation, Doctor Franxx takes his vision off the screen to face Nana. "Bah, those geezers think they control everything. If they want her back badly enough, they'll have to go through me."

Back in the early days, Doctor Franxx was viewed as an uncaring and distant man; and that remains mostly true to this day. He only ever showed happiness if it was a new breakthrough in a scientific field or if it there were results to be happy about. But something, some _one_ , made a change in him.

After _that_ day.

Nowadays, he seems to make strides in protecting the wellbeing of Zero Two—almost like a parent would. A dysfunctional, cold, and callous parent, but _a_ parent nonetheless. Maybe it's the time he spent with the girl during her development at the Garden, or making sure APE didn't overstep their boundaries regarding his subject. The last time those geezers and their attack dogs had their way with her—behind the Doctor's back, no less—there were numerous losses and casualties. Though his body might be old, he'd beat them all to death with his cane if they laid their pretentious hands on her again.

"So she'll be staying here, I take it," Nana says tiredly, not wanting to argue with the older man.

With his point made, Doctor Franxx turns back to the orange screen filled with information. Nana makes her way back to the open door, but not before the Doctor speaks up.

"I'll make arrangements for the boy to become her official partner, and tell her if you wish. She needs some good news for once in her life. But first, I wish to address a hypothesis I have."

Nana stops near the open door, turning back to the Doctor with a puzzled look.

"I want the boy to pilot with a different pistil in their respective Franxx, at least once. How you do it, it's up to you and Hachi," Doctor Franxx requests, as he stares at Hiro's paracapacity score. "Something's been bothering me."

Nana nods in acceptance, soft heels clacking as she exits the otherwise silent room.

Throughout the recording, Hiro's paracapacity score would randomly jump to a higher level for several seconds, then settle back down to match Zero Two's—higher than anything recorded during a stampeding Strelitzia, and those numbers got _high_. Doctor Franxx wondered if this was just a result of him piloting with the girl, or if it was because of _that_ day. Hopefully due to Hiro's more passive personality compared to that of Zero Two, if anything happens to the pistil he chooses to pilot with, he wouldn't intentionally harm them.

Hopefully.

* * *

The previous night, Hiro left the plantation's medical bay after being treated for minor injuries. As he left, the caretakers insisted that he remained for the night, to watch over him as a precaution from piloting with Zero Two. Hiro persisted in leaving, claiming that he felt much better than he did as of recent and that his bed was far superior to that of the hospital beds. If anything did happen, Goro would be there for him. The caretakers did nothing to stop him as he climbed back up top to the boarding house.

Under the night sky that showered the forest in darkness, Hiro reached the front door of the house. He hoped that no one would be awake by this time, as the trek through the forest drained him of any energy he had left. His bed was practically calling out to him.

Reaching for the doorknob, Hiro looks down to see a suitcase sitting parallel to the outer wall of the house. Though it was too dark to read whatever was on the suitcase, he already knew who it once belonged it.

 _Something for me…?_ Hiro thought to himself, remembering one of Naomi's final words to him.

Hiro was too tired to try and think any further about the day's events, so he picked the suitcase up by the handle and opened the front door with ease. Thankfully, all the lights were turned off signalling that everyone was either asleep or in their bed. Walking up the grand staircase, he made his way towards the boy's dorms and his room, which he shared with Goro.

Opening the door, Goro lies on his bed sound asleep. Good, no questions for to answer.

Setting the suitcase down next to his bed, he slowly takes his uniform off and throws it off to the side. Sitting on the bed and preparing to slip on the covers, Goro shifts in his bed a little and murmurs something under his breath.

"Ichi…go…"

Finishing his murmurs, he settles back down with a gentle snore. Hiro gives off a silent chuckle at his friends' sleep talking, before lying down and being claimed by restfulness himself.

* * *

The next morning, Hiro awakens to sunlight penetrating through the window. He rubs his eyes before turning to his side, seeing that Goro's bed was empty—possibly already getting ready for the day.

Hiro climbs out of the bed, walking towards the dresser for a fresh uniform to wear for the day. Pulling one out, he carelessly throws it on like he always has. Ichigo was going to nag at him about it, but he didn't care in the slightest.

Before leaving the room, he looks down to the side of his bed where a suitcase with the numbers '703' printed on the side sits. There was no doubt that it belonged to Naomi now. Hiro could only wish that she either survived the destruction or was killed painlessly.

Sitting back down on his bed, Hiro grabs the suitcase and plants it on his lap. With the sound of two clicks, the latches that held the suitcase are undone, revealing its contents. Inside there are several trinkets, oddities, and other personal items thrown about. There were two things that stuck out to him: an elegant hand mirror that reflected his face and an ornately carved box that fit snugly against the suitcases' fabric to the side.

This box stood out from anything else, almost as if it didn't belong in the suitcase in the first place. Holding the suitcase firm with one hand, Hiro uses his other to pull the box out. With enough force, it slides out from the suitcase. He sets the suitcase to the side to better inspect this odd box.

The box itself is about a forearm in length and on the edges and corners is gold trimming, with the corners bearing intricate golden carvings of nothing in particular. The wood that makes up the majority of the box is a dark mahogany with beautiful, delicate carvings of trees and flowers engraved within.

Hiro rotates the box around for a way to open it—a latch, button, lever, anything. The only thing resembling an opening mechanism is a small keyhole, right under the lid of the box. Only a key could open it, but he didn't see anything like a key within the suitcase. He sets the box to the side and grabs the suitcase once more. Hiro moves items around and shakes them out, all in search for the key. Whatever was in that box, it had to be important enough to be kept locked up.

With no luck searching, he sets the suitcase back down in defeat. Maybe the box was some sort of puzzle? Hiro grabs the box once more, shaking it right next to his ear. There was no sound coming from inside, and whatever was inside was held in there tight. Hiro sets the box back down on his lap, sighing in defeat.

Quietly, the door to the room opens causing Hiro to look up from the ornate box.

"Hey Hiro," Goro says as he enters, stopping once he looks at the box in Hiro's lap. "Oh, what's that?"

Hiro shrugs his shoulders. "Don't know, and I don't know what's in it. It was in Naomi's suitcase, before, well you know…"

"You don't need to say anymore, I get it. The adults said she survived, so we can at least be grateful for that. Anyways, I came to tell you breakfast's ready," Goro pauses for a moment. "And that strange girl's down there too."

That peaked Hiro's interest, pulling him out of the well filled with somber thoughts. Why was Zero Two up in the house, out of all places? With other questions plaguing his mind surrounding the girl, he sets the ornate box on the nightstand to come back to it later. Maybe one of the girls knew something about the box or a way to open it, or see if Zorome could work his way into the box.

Standing up from the bed, he follows Goro out from the room and down the grand staircase. Entering the dining hall, all the boys occupied their respective table and the girls to their own. Oddly enough, Zero Two sat at her own table far removed from the others, the table once being filled with food now reduced to half its original size. She was too busy gorging herself with honey soaked hands on a honeyed slab of meat to take notice to the two boys entering the room.

Hiro and Goro made their way over to their respective table, sitting next to each other opposite the other three boys. While everyone had food on their plates, they couldn't stop staring at the horned girl—Hiro especially. Everyone in the room was either disgusted or confused by the way Zero Two ate her food without any mannerisms. Meat, vegetables, and other foodstuff was all completely drenched in honey, causing Miku to gag as Zero Two gulfs down another slab.

"Why is she still here?" Miku whispers to the other girls at the table.

"What a strange person," Kokoro chimes in, commenting on the girl's affinity for honey. "I wonder if she likes sweets."

Miku whispers back, using her hand to shield her words from the pink haired girl at the lone table—though the girl did not care about her comments at all. "She's not a person, not with those things on her head," she whispers, using her fingers to emulate horns.

"Cut it out," Ichigo warns cutting away at her food, causing Miku to get back in her seat. "She's our savior, you know."

Ichigo was probably the only person in the room to refrain from staring at the pistil. One would assume she didn't care at all about the girl's presence; yet that simply isn't true.

Ichigo cared _a lot_.

It wasn't just her mere presence that bothered her, it was more the fact that Hiro had some attraction to her. Like a magnet of some sorts. It was a miracle that she hasn't said anything else to the girl, but that could be chalked up to her need to fill the Squad Leader role.

"Do you think she really has klaxosaur blood?" Ikuno speaks up as she picks apart of piece of bread. "Besides, I thought no one had single digit codes."

Over at the boy's table, Futoshi is rather surprised by how the vicious 'partner killer' acts. "She's nothing like the rumors said."

"She's ruining her good looks by the way she's eating," Goro notes as he turns to face Hiro, giving him a teasing glare.

With nothing else to add, Hiro states one of the more obvious things. "I'm surprised by how fast her injuries healed up."

In their chatter, none of them realized that Zorome had gotten up from his seat and now approaching Zero Two. Leaning on the table with an overzealous posture, he introduces himself to the otherwise disinterested girl.

"Hey there! It was a real treat to watch your skills in action. I, Zorome the Great, shall graciously ride with you if you so desire."

Zero Two wasn't paying too much attention to the boy, as the honeyed slab of meat in her hand had more worth than the egotistical boy.

"I'm sure I can do a much better than that wuss," Zorome proclaims, gesturing to Hiro without taking his eyes off her. "Why don't we try– eek!"

Zorome yelps in surprise, seeing that Zero Two was wiping her honey soaked hands all over his uniform. Everyone in the room was getting tired of hearing his ego, so seeing him being humiliated in such a way brightened up the mood a bit.

"What are you doing?! Ah, it's my Sunday best!" Zorome squeals in surprise, trying to clean off his uniform. "What are you going to do about this?!"

With her work done, Zero Two leaves her table in search of a better spot. That spot was at the boys' table, right on Hiro's lap. In response to her rather seductive moves, Hiro lets a quiet yelp of surprise. Before he knew it, Zero Two was pouring honey all over his food, like she had done to her own.

"This is really nice and sweet," she coos softly. "Let's eat together, okay?"

Regaining his composure from the otherwise taboo act of a girl sitting at the boy's table, Hiro finally has a chance to ask what has been on his mind since last night. "Tell me, did I actually manage to pilot back then?"

After taste testing the golden liquid covering the food, Zero Two seemed almost surprised by the question, before the surprise melted into a devious grin. Hiro just needed affirmation to his skills as a pilot, nothing more.

"You sure did," Zero Two hums. "You were _incredible,_ dar-ling."

The way that word rolled off her tongue stirred all kinds of emotions in Hiro. He knew that word had a lot of meaning, and felt much more than a mere label to call someone by—especially for her to call him that.

"Darling?"

Almost everyone in the dining hall repeated the word in confusion, struggling to find its meaning. Was it a food? Was it an object of some kind? Whatever it was, the way Zero Two said it had deeper implications of some sort, none that anyone else could figure out—all besides three.

The first held it deep within her heart.

The second welcomed it as another name.

The third, with or without knowing its meaning, resented it.

Amidst the commotion, and Zorome's cries from his stained uniform, the door to the dining hall opens and in walks a tall woman with brunette hair.

"Keep it down, kids," she requests, gathering everyone's attention.

"Nana!" Kokoro exclaims, excited to see their caretaker from the Garden once again.

With everyone's eyes turned towards her—except one pair from a particular pink haired girl—Nana greets everyone and explains her role. "My name is Nana and I'll be your caretaker, just like I was at the Garden. APE HQ has assigned me to this plantation. I look forward to your cooperation."

As she finishes, there are many cheers of joy over Nana heralding her role as their caretaker. Ichigo, however, has different thoughts clouding her mind.

"Is she going to be staying here, Nana?" Ichigo asks with a layer of worry.

"Zero Two will be remaining here, yes," Nana answers, pausing shortly after to think about her next words. "Regarding her involvement in your squad, we're awaiting orders from HQ."

Looking over to the girl that was practically stradling Hiro at this point, Nana gestures her to follow. "You know the rules, Zero Two. Now come, I need to speak with you, then you can finish your breakfast."

Zero Two groans, as she slowly removes herself from Hiro's rather warm lap.

"Ahh, but it's more comfortable with darling," she sighs apathetically.

As she begins to walk away towards the door, Hiro jumps up from his seat, trying to get Zero Two's attention.

"Wait! Zero Two!" Hiro exclaims, successful in getting her to stop. "Let me ride with you again. There's something I need to be sure of."

"That's not for you to decide," Nana suddenly cuts in. "You'll be given your orders in due time, Hiro. And to the rest of you, the startup ritual will continue after breakfast, followed by some basic training."

As both Zero Two and Nana left the dining hall, everyone went back to finishing their breakfast in preparation for the continuation of the ritual, which was rudely interrupted yesterday. Waiting several seconds after the two left the room, Ichigo silently excuses herself from the table. All the girls at the table had questioning looks, but whenever it came to something regarding Hiro, they knew to stay silent.

Ichigo wanted to know more about this girl that mysteriously appears, pilots with Hiro of all people, and who knows what is going to happen next. It's her duty as Squad Leader to know everything that happens with her squad, afterall.

Quietly shutting the door behind her to the dining hall, she crosses the foyer over to the front door to where she thinks the two may have went. Hiding behind one of the large wooden beams near the door, Ichigo is able to make out some conversation between the two standing far outside.

"You know you can't be acting like that near the parasites," Nana scolds a rather inattentive Zero Two, who was leaning up against a nearby tree.

"Pfft, I do what I want with my darling." Zero Two retorts, not caring anymore about what she has to say. "Why'd you have to bring me out here anyway?"

From behind her hiding spot, Ichigo felt disgusted with that response. ' _Do what I want' my ass._

"If you're so insistent, I came to speak with you about a very particular matter," Nana responds to the horned girl. "Have you spoken to the Doctor recently?"

"Why? Haven't seen him since I got off that stuffed up plane."

 _The Doctor? The old guy that looked like a robot?_ Ichigo thinks to herself, recalling the elderly man from yesterday's startup ritual.

"He'd be the one to tell you this, but he's currently preoccupied at the moment," Nana explains her reasoning for bringing up the Doctor in the first place.

Zero Two was beginning to get impatient with her ramblings. "Get on with it, I want to get back to my darling already."

"If you just listen, I'll tell you," Nana's impatience with the girl was growing. "He's moving things around to get you partnered up with Hiro. I don't know when or why, so just sit tight for now."

The reactions of the two pistils upon hearing the news couldn't be any more different.

Zero Two's emerald eyes widened in surprise. The Doctor would do that for her? After all these years? She knew the man was crazy to some degree, always pulling strings to ensure her relative safety. But this—this was a new level. Zero Two had her suspicions when they had departed from the last plantation so quickly; leading up to her finding her darling had not been a coincidence. Still, she'll most likely never understand the man's motives.

Hidden behind the door, Ichigo felt like she had been punched in the gut. Why the hell were they just giving Hiro to this girl who shows up out of literally nowhere? The _partner killer_ no less?! There has to be some higher reason for all this. She couldn't—she _wouldn't_ let Hiro pilot with this girl again, as it could mean his end. Ichigo would have to confront Nana about it later, but without raising suspicion of her eavesdropping.

With the new revelation, Ichigo slowly walks back to the dining hall to finish her breakfast. If anyone asks where she was, a simple lie would have to suffice. Entering the hall, she looks over to where Hiro was seated, who had a honey drenched piece of meat on a fork. He was contemplating whether or not he should eat it, with Goro ushering him to give it a try.

Ichigo returned to her seat, with questioning glances from all the girls at the table.

Ikuno is the only one to speak up, albeit quietly. "Where did you go?"

"Bathroom," Ichigo quickly replies, not wanting to speak any further.

Though the other girls hardly believed it, they didn't want to press her further with the fervor of her answer. Looking down at her food, Ichigo knew she had to eat to be prepared for the coming ritual then practice, but overhearing Nana's words ruined her appetite. She had to do everything in her power to prevent Hiro from ever piloting with that girl—for his safety.

Lost in her thoughts, Ichigo didn't realize a tall pink haired girl sneaking up from behind, nor did any of the girls at the table speak up.

"Darling's mine," a sly whisper of a voice sounds right behind her ear.

Ichigo squeals as she jumps in her seat, nearly falling off entirely—completely overtaken by fear and surprise. Zero Two was leaning over at the hips, her devious smile nearly touching Ichigo's cheek. There was no way that Zero Two could have seen her from her hiding spot, but how did she know? Did that mean _Nana_ knew too?

"Ehh?!" Ichigo exclaims in fear, trying to shroud her guilt. "Wh-what do you mean?"

Contempt with Ichigo's reaction, Zero Two says nothing else as she walks confidently back to her lone table; all the while giving Hiro a very flirtatious smile. Hiro is of course encapsulated by her form, judging by his widened blue eyes and slightly ajar mouth.

The way she presented herself, the way she spoke, the fact that she merely _existed_ was enough to put a foul taste in Ichigo's mouth. How dare she act like that towards _her_ best childhood friend?

With a newfound appetite, Ichigo quickly finishes up her food for the upcoming training session. She didn't want to be in the same room as this—this _bitch._

Empty plate in front of her, Ichigo rises from her chair.

"I'll be getting in gear for the ceremony, if anyone needs me," she announces to girls, before getting up and leaving.

All the while, smug green eyes burned into her back as she exited the room.


	6. Chapter 5: The 302

Within the plantations' locker rooms separated by gender, the boys were dressing down in their respective room—including Hiro. He wasn't participating in the ritual and the training that would follow, but was planning on filling the time with something productive, such as pushing one of the training mechs past its limits. Hiro has been through all the simulations and exercises involving the tiny mechs, to the point where his proficiency in controlling them felt like controlling his own body. All he had to do now was to prove his worth by piloting Strelitzia once more with Zero Two.

"I'm amazed you managed to beat that klaxosaur," Goro sounds over from his locker. "How did it feel?"

"I don't remember much, it was over before I realized it," Hiro replies back, his mind blanking on the details of piloting the Franxx. "It felt like something completely different."

"I see, either way I'm glad you stayed. We would have all been screwed over if it weren't for you."

Walking past the two, Zorome makes the extra effort to bump into Hiro's back.

"Outta my way," the shorter boy scoffs as he walks towards the stamen suiting pods, "I don't believe for a second that you piloted a Franxx before we did. Got that, ya wuss?"

His piercing violet eyes stared back towards them, and Hiro could feel the welling urge to punch something short and arrogant right about now. Goro would have already beaten him to it, but both knew it wouldn't do any of them any good.

* * *

Over in the girls locker room, they were also dressing down—though Ichigo was already halfway through the process.

"Gah, why do these have to be so tight?" Miku complains, struggling to put on a pair of black panties.

"Connecting feels so weird," Kokoro comments over from her locker. "I hope we get used to it soon, not at all like the training units."

Sneaking up on a distracted Kokoro, Miku snakes her arms around the taller girl and begins tickling her. "It's like your body being stirred up from the inside."

"I don't want to be reminded of it," Ikuno calls from opposite the two engrossed in their tickle fight, walking towards the suiting pods to talk with Ichigo. "What it really that rough for you two?"

Ichigo stood in one of the pods as it worked its magic of painting on her white and blue pistil suit. Never did understand how the things works, all she knew is that it's some marvel of magma energy, or something like that. Works for her, so why question it?

"It did feel a bit weird, but I dunno…" Ichigo recalls the brief moment her and Goro connected during the yesterdays failed startup ritual. "Kinda put me at ease, like I'd become one with someone."

"I just wish my numbers could be as high as yours," desires Kokoro as she walks over to the wall of pods. "You and Goro must be very compatible."

The pod Ichigo stands in finishes up by attaching the neck brace which doubles as the stamens paracapacity reader and connection interface. Exiting the pod, Miku walks in to claim her pod for suiting up.

"Good for you," Miku congratulates, with a hint of animosity. "You two double-digits were made for each other. Speaking of double-digits, how 'bout that Hiro?"

 _Hiro._

That was something Ichigo didn't want to think about right now, and his pink orbiter. Especially the pink orbiter, but there was probably going to be no way of talking about Hiro without referencing _her_ at the same time.

Miku continues to gush over Hiro as she steps into her pod. "He brings a girl home out of nowhere, and she's already calling him 'darling.' Maybe those two will make a good coup–"

Miku is abruptly cut off as Ichigo slams the door to her pod shut, drawing all eyes to her. She really didn't want to be in the same room with them right now. Ichigo would rather be out there piloting to relieve this unneeded stress, and it would be very beneficial if she could pilot with Hiro to ensure his safety; but it seems the universe has other things planned to her dismay.

Ichigo leaves the locker room and heads towards the garage in search of Goro.

"What was that all about?" Miku whispers as the door shuts behind Ichigo.

* * *

The continuation of the startup ritual was quick, as they didn't have to go through all the formalities once again to everyone's fortune. To their dismay, Papa and the adults weren't there to witness it like they had been the previous day. Using the fact that they were already piloting their Franxx, the administrators used this opportunity for some basic drills and tactics that would take up most of the morning.

"I'll be giving out all your strategic instructions," Hachi explains of the Franxxs' comm system. "The Squad Leader, Delphinium, will be the one to give field orders. This will be your first drill in a real Franxx, so stay calm and have trust in your partners actions."

Out on the outer platform of the plantation sits a lone training mech, with Hiro sitting in the cockpit. He watches from afar, as the four Franxx walk out towards the desert plains. Their awkward and unstable movements a sign of their rudimentary control of the towering mechs.

How Hiro yearned to be out there with them, only if they let him pilot with Zero Two once again. He had the ability to pilot—he didn't lose it, he just needed the right catalyst to help him a long.

The only thing Hiro could do was work on his already perfect combat skills with the mech. The hardest simulations were a breeze and the exercises were hardly a challenge. Hiro just didn't know how he could convince the administrators to give him another chance.

There was just something about Zero Two he couldn't place his finger on. The way she asserted herself during breakfast was something he'd never seen from any of the other girls in the squad, and the fact that only with her, Hiro could successfully pilot.

Starting the training mech back up once more, Hiro sets off to complete his lap around the outer platform, to break his personal record once again.

* * *

Later in the early afternoon, the parasites of Squad 13 finish up their first training drill. Back in the garage, Ichigo is relatively pleased with how everyone performed; besides Zorome being a reckless idiot that is. Now she could go back up to the boarding house and relax for a bit, hopefully without a certain someone being present.

Zero Two was also down in the garage, walking around aimlessly while enjoying a green apple lollipop. Should probably ask the doc for some more, to be able to share them with darling of course.

While walking around, Zero Two eventually crosses paths with that blue haired girl and her taller friend. She didn't know or bother to learn their names or whatever they go by, didn't matter to her anyways.

As Zero Two walks past them, she could just feel how the shorter one's attitude changes. If that is going to happen every time that they ran into each other, Zero Two could get very used to it.

"Hey, why did it have to be Hiro?" the shorter one asks, with some semblance of worry.

Zero Two stops in her tracks to think. _Wait, who was Hiro again? Oh! Right._

"Hiro? You mean my darling?" Zero Two reaffirms as she turns to face the two.

"There you go, calling him that again."

 _She's jeeeeaaaaalllloussssss._

"I'm grateful that you took care of that klaxosaur earlier, but I want you to stay far away from Hiro from now on," the blue one proclaims, trying to assert pitiful dominance over her darling.

"Why?" Zero Two questions, not wanting to cave into her shallow demands.

"Because you're not apart of our squad. If you're going to up and leave one day, don't get Hiro's hopes up."

 _This one's going to be fun to tease, if not more than darling._

Zero Two closes the distance between the two, letting a soft giggle escape her lips. "Oh? What are you to my darling?"

"I'm the Squad Leader," she retorts back, trying her best not to falter.

 _She thinks she has power over_ my _darling just because she leads a squad? Ha._

Getting closer, Zero Two bends down to come face to face with the girl. It's the little things that can set a person off even more—even more so if they're short.

A couple sniffs here and there, then:

 _Lick_.

The blue one recoils back in a mix of fear, surprise, and confusion, trying to figure out what just happened.

"Sweet. I like your taste," Zero Two expressed, as she walks off to who knows where.

She gets to be with her darling _and_ constantly piss off this short girl by just existing? Zero Two could get used to this.

* * *

Up top under the dome covering the forest of Mistilteinn, a soccer ball is being kicked around in the courtyard by Futoshi and Zorome in an effort to pass the time.

The ball is kicked back to Futoshi, who thinks about the future of their piloting career. "Do you think we'll be able to fight like that one day? Fight the klaxosaurs like the Franxx Hiro piloted."

Doing a couple tricks with the ball, he sends it flying towards Zorome who keeps up the momentum. "That doesn't count as piloting at all. There's no way that loser could pilot a Franxx."

"But it _did_ move," Futoshi replies back, accepting the ball as it soars back. "And the adults seem to have taken an interest in Hiro too."

"I've heard rumor that pistil, Zero Two, has the special ability to pilot a Franxx all by herself," Mitsuru chimes in, leaning back on one of the courtyard pillars. "You saw it's four-legged form, didn't you? Hiro was only taken along for the ride."

"See? I told you," Zorome exclaims as he points a finger towards Futoshi.

Towards the other side of the courtyard, Hiro walks into view of the three boys with a towel around his neck. He was coming back from finishing up another training round in the tiny mechs.

"You think you're hot stuff, don't ya?" Zorome mutters, before kicking the ball towards an inattentive Hiro. The ball makes contact with his arm, who lets out a small grunt of pain.

"Bingo! I'm the best!" Zorome shouts, before sarcastically apologizing. "Oh, sorry 'bout that. Really expected you to dodge that. Were you cranking one all by yourself in a training unit?"

Hiro was reaching for the towel that now lay on the ground, before Zorome continues once more.

"That's perfect for you, a wuss who just hitched a ride with a girl!"

When Hiro was walking back up to the house, he knew that he would have to confront the damn gremlin again. Hiro was hoping that it wouldn't go this far, but Zorome just kept pushing and pushing.

Anger was something that Hiro hadn't felt in a very, very long time. He just wanted to go back to the boarding house without any trouble.

Closing the gap between the two, Zorome notices a faint blue glow emanating from within Hiro's eyes.

"I piloted that thing with Zero Two, okay?" Hiro seethes, now inches apart from one another.

"Oh really? A Franxx is nothing like those wimpy training units," Zorome argues back, not knowing what he's getting himself into. "Let's go, right here and now!"

Zorome throws his right fist out towards the taller boy, aiming for his jawline.

What a mistake that was.

Hiro's right hand shoots out to intercept the incoming fist, catching it at the wrist before it makes contact with his face. Zorome is briefly stunned by the quick reflexes, before he suddenly lets out a hushed sigh of pain. The grip on his wrist is that of an iron fist, clearly underestimating Hiro's strength through his lanky form. The blonde moves his gaze from his fist to Hiro's face, who was looking back with an intense, icy stare.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Hiro's pupils were consumed by a deep blue, a contrast to his turquoise irises. On top of the iron grip, his eyes alone were demanding that he stop—the cold stare places an inhuman fear deep within Zorome. As much as he did not want to admit it, Hiro was one of the most skilled parasites to pilot the training mechs; though skill alone could not explain the inhuman strength being exerted through his hand and into Zorome's forearm.

"Wh-what the hell?" Zorome whimpers, the pain shooting up through his wrist taking its toll.

Hiro extends his left arm to the side of his body, his free hand moving into the shape of a fist, intending to strike the shocked stamen square in the chest. However, before Hiro is able to follow through, the backdoor to the boarding house opens with Ichigo and Goro rushing out.

"Hey! What's going on out here?" Ichigo demands worriedly as she runs over to Hiro, and Goro over to Zorome.

Catching Hiro's attention, he forcefully shoves the stunned Zorome away from him, causing him to grunt in pain while stumbling several steps back, then landing on his rear. The shorter boy clutches the wrist with his other hand, testing to see if there was anything broken.

Hiro closes his eyes shakes his head, the sapphire color fading away from within his pupils. Looking over to his left, he sees a concerned Ichigo approaching him.

"Hiro! Are you alright? He didn't hurt you, did he?" Ichigo rapidly asks while inspecting Hiro's body for any type of injury. To her benefit, she finds nothing of the sort.

On the opposite side of the courtyard, Zorome finished looking at his wrist, with no serious injury present, cocky attitude returning full force.

"This isn't over, wuss!" Zorome shouts from across the courtyard, with Goro holding him back.

"Don't let him get to you," Ichigo whispers to Hiro to try and calm him down.

Hiro's mind was on other things at the moment, far from the matters that involved the gremlin. "I _can_ pilot, I just need a chance," he mumbles to himself.

Almost as if the universe received his request, his communicator begins to buzz within his pocket. Pulling it out and flipping it on, the courtyard becomes silent in anticipation.

"It's Nana," he announces to everyone in the courtyard. "I wonder what she could want."

* * *

"A mock battle with me in a Franxx?" Hiro asks from his seat.

The parasites of Squad 13 were summoned to the briefing room when Hiro got the call from Nana. On their way down they didn't know the why behind the summons. Everyone was in attendance: Nana and Hachi standing towards the front facing the children, Zero Two sitting away from the others, and all the while Zorome silently fumes after having his ass almost handed to him.

"Correct," Nana replies to Hiro. "We'll be testing your ability to pilot a Franxx,"

"And to reinstate you as a parasite, should you perform well," continues Hachi, finishing her sentence. "Pick your partner."

In that moment, Hiro becomes ecstatic. They were willing to give him a second chance! This time he would be able to prove to all of them that he could pilot a Franxx. And being given the chance to _choose_ his partner, Hiro already had one in mind. Before he is able to say anything, Hiro is already beaten to the punch.

"I'll do it," Zero Two happily declares from her position in the room. "You are my darling, after all. And you're–"

Nana makes a motion to cut her off and prevent any 'sensitive' information from getting loose, but Ichigo has already begun speaking. "Hold on, I'll be his partner. _She_ does not belong to this squad, and if you're only measuring Hiro's aptitude, I don't see why it can't work with me."

"Why does it have to be you?" Mitsuru smugly suggested. "You already pilot with Goro, and now you want to ride with Hiro?"

"Quiet down, everyone," Nana says, trying to regain control of the room.

Ichigo looks over to Goro for reassurance after Mitsuru finished his rude comment. The blonde boy answers with a smile and thumbs up, showing no hard feeling and approving of her decision.

Regaining her handle on the room, Nana addresses the horned girl. "Zero Two, we will not be deploying Strelitzia for this test. Hiro will need to pick someone else from the squad."

Zero Two shoots her an angry look before standing up. "That sucks, but fine," she says, walking over to a certain blue haired girl.

Bending over at a perpendicular angle to her body at the hips, a feat she's able to accomplish with ease. With their faces nearly touching, Ichigo puts up a defensive hand covering one of her cheeks, protecting it from being licked—like that would stop Zero Two. Ichigo's mixed expression of anger and embarrassment fueled Zero Two's urge to annoy her as if it were a positive feedback loop.

"You can have him, but _only_ this time," she whispers, getting closer to Ichigo's ear and placing a hand on her shoulder. "You better take _good_ care of my darling, okay?" Zero Two gives her shoulder a firm squeeze to emphasize her dominance over Hiro, who then makes her way towards the door.

"So you'll be his partner, right Ichigo?" confirms Nana as Zero Two leaves the room.

"Wait!" Hiro cries out an attempt to get Zero Two's attention, but it's too late as the door slides closed behind her.

Unphased with his outcry, Nana continues. "Would anyone like to volunteer to be their opponents?"

Sensing the opportunity, Zorome jumps from his seat and raises his hand. "I will!" he exclaims.

"Hey! Who died and made you the leader?" Miku snaps at his sudden proclamation.

"I wanna show them what we're made of."

Miku calms down a bit, knowing that it's impossible to argue with Zorome and win. Finally, she decides on her answer. "Alright, fine."

"Right then," says Hachi with his emotionless face. "The battle will take place tomorrow morning."

"Wait!" Zorome bursts out, "Let's do it right now!"

His arrogance knew no bounds and judging by his attitude, both Nana and Hachi caved in to his request. "Then it's settled, both opponents are to be suited up and ready within the next hour. Dismissed."

* * *

Hiro sat on his bed examining the locked box once again while Goro sat opposite of him on his own bed. Any minute now and he'd be called down for the battle; and hopefully put Zorome back in his place. At least he got some more time to see if there was any possible way to open the box. So far in the endeavour, Hiro has made zero progress on it.

"Seems like Zorome's got something to prove doesn't he?" Goro asks while cleaning off his glasses.

Hiro sighs while setting the box back on the nightstand, giving Goro all of his attention. "Yeah, and sorry about Ichigo."

"Don't worry about it, you know how much she cares about you."

He knew all too well that the girl cared about him. It had been becoming increasingly obvious ever since Zero Two came into their lives. Ichigo was acting a lot more defensive over him and it was not subtle in the slightest.

A ringing comes from the communicator in Hiro's pocket, pulling it out signals that it's time for the battle. "Looks like it's time," says Hiro as he walks towards the door.

"And Hiro, take it easy out there," the blonde reassures as Hiro turns the door knob.

"This is my only chance, I can't make any promises."

* * *

The night sky blanketed the desert wastes in darkness, all except for the Plantation and the brightly illuminated arena. Giant lights many stories tall illuminate a makeshift arena situated outside Plantation 13. The arena itself was hastily constructed—a square signifying the border of which the mock battle will take place.

On the lower platform of the Plantation, members of Squad 13 stood in attendance with both caretakers, Nana and Hachi, with tablets in their hands. Several feet away, but on the same elevation as the rest, Zero Two was leaning up against one of the many outer support beams to the Plantation, arms behind her head with the stick of a lollipop appearing from outside her lips. Not too far from her position, Doctor Werner Franxx stood leaning on his cane, close to the edge of the platform in anticipation of the events to come from the mock battle.

The Doctor turns his head to the side to meet Zero Two's leaning figure. "Could you be more respectful, girl?"

The horned girl scoffs in response, turning her head away from the elderly man's slightly disappointed gaze. This entire thing was a giant waste of time to Zero Two. What good is there in having her darling pilot with someone else—with the blue washboard nonetheless—that wasn't her? He piloted with her, and that's all there is to it; but it seems the Doctor has other plans in store before they could pilot once more.

Before arriving to the platform to watch the mock battle, the elder did reaffirm his decision to pair them up, regardless of her darling's performance during this trial. Zero Two knew that he wouldn't be able to pilot with the washboard—his existence belonging to her. If she had been able to, she would have brought a bowl of popcorn to munch on; though seeing that she didn't, the lollipop swishing in her mouth was evident enough.

In the center of the arena, two inactive Franxx stood opposite each other, awaiting activation from its pilots. Within the blue and white maiden steel, Delphinium, Hiro and Ichigo were finalizing their preparations; that was before being rudely interrupted by Zorome through the intercom. His bashfulness really did not know any bounds.

"Hey wuss! Time for me to settle this!" Zorome boastfully sounds from inside Argentea, followed by a quick comment by Miku.

"I'll be able to beat you this time, oh so Great Leader, especially with that partner of yours."

Undeterred by her mockings, Ichigo calmly reassures Hiro who sat in the stamen seat. "Don't worry about them, Hiro. This isn't about winning or losing. Just focus on connecting with me."

Ichigo slides her arms into the pistil terminal's controls, stamen controls lifting up from their resting positions in front of Hiro. Panels from the headpiece on Ichigo's neck disengage, moving forward over the top of her forehead, signalling to Hiro that he could begin the connection to Delphinium.

"Delphinium and Argentea, begin the trial," Hachi announces from the platform, giving the green light.

Within seconds, Argentea's pilots immediately connect without issue, indicated by her faceplate lighting up. In Delphinium's cockpit, Hiro feels like he's about to break into a nervous sweat. He's never done this before, well, not consciously. When he piloted with Zero Two, it all came so naturally to him, he feared he wouldn't be able to do it with anyone else but her.

"Just relax Hiro, connect and I'll do the rest," Ichigo reassures once again.

Her words felt like silk to his ears, giving him just enough confidence to reach out to the stamen controls.

 _It's just like the training mechs._

Wrapping his fingers around the controls, he hovers his thumbs over the buttons to begin the connection.

 _Except it's more real._

With closed eyes, Hiro presses down on the buttons. His vision is enveloped within a spiral of green, growing more and more intense the more he dove down into Ichigo's mind. The green gave way to a bright white, Hiro's mind successfully syncing with Ichigo's.

Panels within the cockpit light up and the paracapicity score between the two reaches an exceptional 100, considering their low code numbers. Delphinium's faceplate lights up, followed by basic movements and examination of the arms and fingers. Each individual movement of the fingers fueled Hiro's delight further.

"I'm doing it! I'm really doing it!" Hiro excitedly cheers, as he takes in his newfound ability.

On the platform, all of Squad 13 were equally surprised—even Mitsuru, though he would never express it. Zero Two was surprised too, enough to get her to move away from her lounging spot and closer towards the edge of the platform, right next to Doctor Franxx. The man however offered no sense of elation, unmoved by the boy's ability to pilot.

Zorome wasn't having any of this, he had something to prove. "Alright wuss, enough with this crap. Let's go!"

"Ready, Hiro?" Ichigo asks, wanting his agreement before they proceed with anything.

"Yeah, let's do this," Hiro responds, still overtaken by glee of his ability.

Delphinium begins to move forward towards the waiting Argentea, one slow step at a time.

Three steps in, Ichigo begins to feel something off with their connection. She had never felt this before with Goro whenever they made a connection. The connection she held now felt like it was faltering, but felt stronger than Goro's. Like it was trying to reach out for something _more_ , but was reluctant to do so. It ebbed and flowed, unknowing and all knowing all at the same time. Like a child unsure if they wanted another cookie.

The fourth step in, the connection's strength and lack thereof grew more in magnitude.

Ichigo wanted to ask Hiro if he could feel the same thing, until she felt the full force of the connection weighing down on the back of her head.

"H-Hiro…?"

Delphinium seizes movement, deactivating and collapsing to one knee in front of the anticipating Argentea.

Then a rapturing, bright white light fills Ichigo's vision, before she was able to take notice of the thin blue tendrils snaking their way up her forearms from out of the pistil terminal.

Fear encapsulated Nana as her eyes darted from her tablet to the inactive Delphinium, then back to the tablet. The tablet in her hands held live information regarding the two parasites currently inside the Franxx, and the information she was receiving was something she couldn't believe.

The only other time Nana had seen something like this was when Zero Two piloted with a stand-in stamen, but in this case it's the opposite. Ichigo's paracapacity score plummeted when Delphinium seemingly deactivated; yet Hiro's climbed and climbed past any known value a stamen was capable of. The boy was hitting marks only pistil in Stampede Mode was capable of. To top it all off, Ichigo's brain waves were all over the place, spiking and flatlining at random intervals.

"Nana?" a soft male voice sounds from behind her, but her fear still present. "What's going on? Are Hiro and Ichigo alright? You're worried."

Nana takes her eyes off the immobile Delphinium to meet Goro's distressed eyes through his glasses. "I-I don't know," she stutters in response.

Goro only stared back as Nana gently pushed the statue that was Hachi to the side, making her way over to Doctor Franxx, as fast as her heels would allow. All the while on her short journey to his side, the occasional twitching motion emanates from Delphinium.

"What the hell is going on, Doctor? Did you know that _this_ was going to happen?!" Nana angrily accuses him, thrusting out her tablet in front of the elder, presenting him with all the information present. Zero Two who stood by his side snuck a peek at the tablet, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

The only thing she could think was: _Damn, darling. I've been missing out._

"Patience, my dear Nana," was all that the Doctor had to offer as a response.

On the completely opposite side of the spectrum of reactions, Zorome's impatience was growing. "C'mon wuss, I don't have all night," he mumbles to no one in particular. "Let's just finish this, Miku."

"Fine," she sighs in response, "let's not hurt them too much."

Raising the training baton in Argentea's hand, they prepare to strike the immobile Delphinium. The baton swings downwards, aimed directly at Delphinium's side to knock the Franxx down to the desert floor. Mere inches before contact, an arm from the mech shoots out to intercept the wrist of the offender.

"What?!" shouts both Zorome and Miku in unison, having fully believed that the Franxx was inactive this entire time.

Delphinium's head slowly and shakely raises upwards to look Argentea right in the eyes, though the mech lacks its typical face when active. The blank faceplate then fills with static, soon fading away to reveal one piercing eye that wasn't covered by her hair, glowing an intimidating icy blue. Bright sapphire veins flow outwards from around the eye, snaking off to the far left of the faceplate.

On Nana's tablet, every warning message possible began to pop up one after another. The color of red flashed over every bit of incoming information.

[ERROR]

[ERROR]

[PISTIL UNRESPONSIVE]

[POSITIVE PULSE: 0]

[NEGATIVE PULSE: ERROR]

[PISTIL CONTROLS: ERROR]

 **[STYRE MODE: ACTIVATED]**

* * *

Where is this place?

What is this place?

Ichigo felt like she was trudging through this desolate, icy forest for hours. She kept walking on through the rows of many dead and frozen trees that sprouted up towards the bleak, gray sky. The piercing cold of the winter winds penetrated right through the piloting suit she still wore. While it had protection against extreme weathers; but the cold that passed through the suit made it seem like she wasn't wearing anything.

No memories of how she got to this place.

No recollection of this places existence.

But one thing was certain.

Hiro was here in this wasteland of a forest.

"Hiro?" Ichigo calls out into the treeline, keeping her walking pace up. Only the whistling of the wind responded back to her call.

With no answer, she kept pushing on through the foot of snow that covered the ground. Ichigo wraps her arms around herself to retain some body heat, hoping that there would be some place warm in this forest.

That place would have to be wherever Hiro was.

 _Or what if Hiro…_

No.

If she could answer the question to her being in this forest, it would have something to do with Hiro. One moment she was piloting with him, then suddenly she was placed in this forest. Hiro would have to know. And he has to be here.

Lost in thought, Ichigo had not realized that the snow covering her ankles was beginning to thin and the freezing winter winds were not pelting her body as much as they had been. Opening her nearly frozen shut eyes, a large mistletoe tree graces her vision. Its mere presence fills Ichigo with some sort of existential warmth, and it felt like the forest was guiding her here all this time.

Scanning the area, Ichigo looks down at the base of the tree, where the roots twisted and turned in a multitude in directions away from the base of the trunk. Unknowingly, Ichigo steps on a tiny twig causing a crunching sound as she enters the large clearing. Quick movement is seen from the base of the tree, a small figure darts around the base of the tree.

"Hey, wait!"

That voice.

It sounded so… familiar.

At the base of the tree, another small figure in a winter coat is seen getting up from a sitting position, as if to chase after the more fearful one. As Ichigo got closer, she began to make out more detailed features of the figure.

A young boy, raven hair.

The boy begins to walk around the tree in the same direction as the figure, until he notices Ichigo, to which he turns around to face her. Any feelings of cold she still had from the forest have completely faded, being replaced by warmth.

Brilliant turquoise eyes, book in his hand.

Is that…

"Hiro?" Ichigo blurted out, her emerald eyes widening in surprise.

This didn't make any sense whatsoever. The boy is obviously Hiro, there is no doubt in her head, but why is he so young? And why is he in the middle of a freezing forest of all places? Weren't they just piloting Delphinium? Wait, what if this was a memory of some kind? Ichigo knew that if both pilots were under extreme stress in a Franxx, their minds could merge during the connection. But everything she has felt here doesn't feel like one, but it does explain the young Hiro.

The young boy smiles at her, tucking the book under his left arm and begins to approach her. Due to the size difference between the two, Ichigo has to get down on her knees to be level with him.

Now foot apart from one another, the young Hiro does not seem to find anything wrong with the situation they find themselves in. He still has that smile from when he first saw her approaching.

"Hiro, what's going on? Why are you out here?" Ichigo quietly asks him.

The young Hiro does not answer, but instead reaches for the book under his arm. He extends his arms out towards her, the front cover facing upwards. On the front cover, it looks to be a giant mess to Ichigo. Where the picture would be is a mess of color and lines, the title is completely illegible.

A low growl is heard from near the mistletoe, causing Ichigo to look up and away from the book. The same figure that ran behind the tree now is peeking from around the trunk, and quickly darts away from vision when they notice Ichigo staring at them.

Shaking her head, Ichigo changes focus back to the book in her hands. Opening it to the first page reveals a blank page; and turning to the second page is a another blank page, with all the subsequent pages seemingly blank.

Ichigo only grows more confused the more pages she flips through. "Hiro, why are the pages blank?"

The young boy gestures to take the book back with a look of confusion of his own, which Ichigo freely allows. He flips back to the first page of the book, and what follows only deepens Ichigo's confusion. Hiro reads the book aloud as if there is nothing wrong, but Ichigo only hears a garbled mess of words stream from his mouth.

Unbeknownst to the both of them, snaking blue and black tentacles slowly slither from out the path Ichigo took to reach the clearing. Catching Ichigo by surprise, she lets out a yelp as they begin to wrap around her ankles and the rest of her body.

"Hiro!" she shouts, trying to wiggle away from the tentacles, though they show no signs of stopping.

The tendrils tighten, and slowly begin to drag the panicking girl back into the depths of the frozen forest. Ichigo digs one hand into the ground and tries to reach the other arm out to Hiro; but he only stands and watches with a blank expression.

The figure from behind the tree is visible once more, and only two things stand out about the figure.

Watching, fearful, and hateful emerald eyes.

Two large horns.

That was the last thing Ichigo saw, as her grip on the ground loosened, allowing the vicious tentacles to drag her deeper into the depths of the forest and out from the clearing. Trees and brush sped past as she was dragged along the snow, and she could feel herself growing tired as everything darkened around her.

* * *

 **[STYRE MODE: ACTIVATED]**

"...go! Ichigo! Come in! Do you read?!"

 _What the hell just happened?_ Ichigo thinks to herself, eyes still shut. How long had she been out? One thing became clear rather quickly, she was still connected to the pistil terminal of Delphinium. Opening her eyes, she is greeted with many warnings and errors littering the control panel in front of her, as well as a frightened Argentea looking down through the screen.

' _Styre Mode?' What is going on?_

Struggling to get her bearings, Ichigo is quickly filled with fear when she realizes that none of the controls are responding to her commands. Attempting to move Delphinium results in an unseen force pressing itself against her body, against the direction she tries to move. Getting a better view of her arms, Ichigo's fear only deepens. Bright blue tendrils have rooted themselves up the length of her arms.

Overwhelmed with panic, the pistil tries to disconnect herself from the terminal. "Disconnect! Disconnect damn it!" Her attempts at removing herself from the terminal are met with failure.

"Ichigo! Oh thank goodness!" Nana exclaims over the comms.

"Nana! What's going on? Why can't I move?"

"Just stay calm, Ichigo. What's Hiro's condition?"

Ichigo hadn't thought about Hiro after regaining consciousness, and with that she felt a pang of guilt for not checking on him sooner. Turning her head as much as the headpiece would allow, she begins to wish that she had never done that.

Hiro remained sitting in the stamen chair; yet his entire body is tensed up, face twisted and contorted into rage. Blood streams down from two spots above his forehead under his raven hair, covering the majority of his face in dark crimson. Hiro's turquoise eyes have a bright, icy sapphire color rooted deep within his pupils.

"Hiro!" Ichigo shouts at the top of her lungs, but the stamen remains unresponsive. His eyes were too focused on one thing.

Holding Argentea with one hand, Hiro sends the Franxx crashing down to the desert floor in one swift movement. Ichigo lets out a yell of agony as her face contorts in pain, the force the stamen exerted through Delphinium channeled its way through her rigid body, movements not her own.

"Miraculous!" Doctor Franxx exclaims, delighted by the boy's sheer power. "The boy's able to control Delphinium without any input from the pistil!"

Nana is taken aback by his brash attitude of the situation taking place in front of them. "Doctor! You knew this would happen all along?! And what about their safety?!"

"I had my theories, yes, but this is more than what I expected," the elderly man replies, keeping his joyous composure intact. "If that pistil wishes to maintain full motor function of her body, I suggest that she be less tense."

Nana is practically shouting through the comms to reach Ichigo's attention. "Ichigo! Did you hear that? Relax yourself and you'll be fine."

Suddenly Delphinium begins to move once more—under Hiro's control no less. Jerky, impercise movements come from the Franxx as it slowly rises from its kneeling position. Heeding Nana's advice, Ichigo relinquishes some control to Hiro.

Though slowly standing, the twitchyness of Delphinium's movements fade, allowing the Franxx smoother control; though not all uncertainty has left.

The tendrils that were wrapped around Ichigo's arms and up her lower legs, wound tighter around her pistil suit. Her body tenses up once again out of fear of the blue tendrils, and in doing so sends another shot of pain up her spine followed by another scream of agony.

"Ichigo…" the deep, raspy voice of Hiro sounds from behind her. "Calm yourself… it… I won't harm… you."

His words bring her temporary solace in the sea of confusion which she resided in, numbing the fear and pain she felt. Ichigo once again relaxes herself in the pistil terminal, and the tendrils that wrapped around her limbs tightened once more; but their presence didn't seem as menacing as they once did. They felt like an extension of Hiro in some strange, esoteric way.

Delphinium now stands tall over Argentea, who lies in a small crater created by the slamming impact. The remaining members of Squad 13 had followed Nana to where she now stood, all of them showing varying degrees of emotion, or lack thereof; but one thing remained certain: they all shared concern for those involved in the battle.

Zero Two stood next to Doctor Franxx, still engrossed by what's happening in Delphinium. She could care less about whatever happens to the blue washboard, as she only cared about her darling.

"My darling's going to be fine after this, right?" Zero Two questions the Doctor with a hint of concern lacing her voice, as she pops the lollipop out of her mouth.

"By my theories, he'll be fine," Doctor Franxx reaffirms before continuing, "wouldn't want to waste a valuable asset, would I?" and quietly out of earshot of everyone else besides the pink haired girl, "nor would I do that to you."

Though any fear she had faded, Zero Two can't help but feel concern. Darling's piloting with someone that wasn't her, so that was cause for concern by itself. But if darling is in distress _because_ of that blue washboard, she is _so_ going to get it once they step out of that mech.

Out in the arena, Delphiniums icy, hateful eye stares directly into the cockpit of Argentea, focused solely on one pilot in particular. Both pilots are in a state of disarray as they try to figure out what just happened to them.

"What the hell _was_ that?!" blurts out Zorome, as he still finds himself in a state of shock. There's no way that the wuss could do something like that…

Could he?

"I think… I think we could call this off, Zorome," admitted Miku, her heart still racing after the impact shaking her entire body. "Besides, Hiro's already proven he can pilot–"

"And admit defeat?!" the blonde immediately retorts. "Like hell I would. Not today, and not ever. I'm Zorome the Gr– wait, what the hell is he doing?!"

Lost in his self gloating, Zorome failed to notice that Delphinium had lowered herself enough to be able to place her hands under Argentea. Lifting the Franxx out of the crater, the comms are filled with an agonizing, pain filled bellow of Hiro.

"Put me down! Put me dooowwnn!" Argentea cries, limbs flailing as she is lifted higher and higher, though her pleas fall on deaf ears.

Hiro lets out another harrowing howl as Argentea is lifted above Delphiniums head, the panicked Franxx parallel to the desert floor.

Looking on in utter shock, Goro fears what might happen to Argentea's pilots. "He's not going to…"

"We can't stop him, can we?" Futoshi nervously asks, fearing the worst for his friend.

Nana shakes her head in response to his question. "I'm afraid not. We can only hope Hiro ends this quickly without harming them too much."

Another howl of pain erupts over the comms, Delphinium slightly crouched and looking onwards to the desert expense. Hiro was preparing to launch Argentea out into the wastes, as far as the Franxx would let him.

"Hiro! No! Don't do it!" Argentea pleads one final time in hopes that the stamen would listen, but the pleas go unnoticed.

One more howl comes out of Hiro's lungs, this one unlike the previous. It was deep and brutal, and could be _felt_. This time it wasn't transmitted over comms, it came directly from the source: straight out of Delphinium. Everyone down on the platform had to cover their ears from the sheer ferocity of his cry.

Taking one step towards the desert expanse, Delphinium moves Argentea behind her head as Hiro prepares for the final move.

As the Franxx begins to follow through, weaknesses begin to show throughout Delphinium. Her knees begin to buckle and arms falter. Before Argentea is able to leave the hands of Delphinium, the Franxx begins to collapse.

Before long, Argentea pitifully falls out of Delphiniums hands and hits the desert floor. The height of the fall was enough to disconnect Miku from her controls, causing the Franxx to deactivate. Soon after, Delphinium collapses to the ground, also deactivating in the process.

Everyone on the platform all shared looks of confusion and shock of what happened. Before anyone could ask what happened, Doctor Franxx began to explain with his robotic, lecturing voice. "The boy put too much strain on Delphinium, and as such, deactivated to prevent mechanical overload of internal systems."

"Are you saying that, uh, Ichigo is…" stumbles Goro as a newfound fear takes over his emotions.

"If she listened to anything I said, no. She'll be fine for the most part," and quickly to Nana and Hachi who stood idle, "and do get them out of there. I'll need to evaluate the boy."

* * *

 **A/N**

Merged chapter 4 and a half with this one, totals ~7600 words. Gonna start using reddit for chapter updates and further authors notes, unless it's really important.

u/wyniashear


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